LeBron James personally fighting off other Klay Thompson suitors

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly pursuing Klay Thompson and their star placed a call to the guard at the opening siren of free agency.

"I'm told LeBron James called Klay Thompson right when free agency opened," Adrian Wojnarowski reported on ESPN. "These conversations, this negotiation will go into [Monday]. There probably will not be a resolution [Sunday].”

James, a free agent himself who is highly likely to re-sign with the Lakers, is deciding between taking a three-year, $162 million max contract or upwards of a "$20 million" annual discount to unlock L.A.'s entire $13 million mid-level exception.

It has been reported that James may only take a discount for the right veteran with Klay Thompson being one of them. Thompson, whose play has diminished since his two major knee injuries, averaged 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on 43 percent shooting from the floor last season.

The guard is 34 years old with his basketball skills fading in recent years. Before going any further, it should be noted that Mychal Thompson (Klay's dad) played with the Lakers in the late 80s to early 90s.

Despite James calling, the Lakers seemed to be in second place with the Mavericks seemingly having the lead for the guard's basketball services. While this may not be the result the Lakers are hoping for, it might be better for L.A. if they lost out on signing Thompson this offseason.

LeBron James personally fighting off other Klay Thompson suitors

While the five-time All-Star can still contribute to a squad, the Lakers may be better served to use their mid-level elsewhere. Of course, James might not be willing to take a discount for someone else but the franchise should focus on finding a way to convince the star to still take a pay cut for Derrick Jones Jr.

Jones Jr, who averaged 8.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game on 48 percent shooting last season, would likely catapult the Lakers back into actual title contention with one or two more signings and an expected increased role from newly re-signed Max Christie.